Russell is a town of 3,744 people on the south bank of the Ohio River, a Greenup County suburb of Ashland inside the Huntington–Ashland metro area. It is not where you would expect to find Amarra, Ashley Lauren, Ava Presley and Johnathan Kayne on the same racks. All four list this shop at 426 Ferry St. on their own retailer pages, which is the only way those labels reach a customer — through an authorized store, not a website checkout. Faviana and the Dessy bridesmaid collections list the store as well.
That is the case for the drive. If a Russell, Greenup County or Ironton student wants a gown from a designer whose name gets recognized in a gym full of people, the alternative to Ferry Street is ordering blind or going to a mall.
Who is walking in the door
Russell High School sits about a mile away on Red Devil Lane, part of the small Russell Independent district, with roughly 620 students in grades 9–12. Greenup County High and its Musketeers are up the river in Greenup. Across the water, Ironton High School students can be here in minutes — the two towns have been linked long enough that both high school bands marched in the parade when the current bridge opened.
That bridge matters for finding the place. The Oakley C. Collins Memorial Bridge opened in November 2016 and, unlike the 1922 truss it replaced, it does not deliver you from downtown Ironton to downtown Russell. It lands on US 23 and KY 244 just south of downtown, so Ohio shoppers come off the span and then double back into the old business district to reach Ferry Street.
Before you go
- The shop’s Instagram lists weekday hours of 2–6 and Saturday 11–4. Its Facebook page has posted a shorter Saturday. Afternoon-only weekdays are the thing to plan around, especially if you are coming after school from Greenup or Rock Hill; call (606) 371-9951 first.
- Bridal is by appointment only and runs on a separate account from prom. Prom, homecoming, tuxedos and accessories are the storefront business.
- Two phone numbers circulate online. The one above is the number on the designers’ retailer listings.
Kelly Queen owns the store — the name is a surname before it is a slogan. The Facebook page still carries the handle from its earlier life as The Queens Cottage, and older reviews call it by that name. Google reviewers have it at 5.0 across 24 ratings, several of them from people who drove in:
“so glad I made the drive to come to this adorable, clean, & friendly shop”
Within a short drive in this corner of Kentucky, Ashland has Lara’s Bridals & Formals, in business since 1986, and a Windsor at Ashland Town Center. Those are different propositions: one is a long-established bridal house, the other is chain prom stock. Ferry Street is the small-inventory, designer-label option, and it is the closest of the three to the Ohio side.